Cases

Defending the Arctic Refuge from Oil & Gas Drilling

To the Gwich’in people of northeast Alaska, this is sacred ground. Emissions from oil and gas development would exacerbate the climate crisis and raise global sea levels. Melting permafrost could release large amounts of methane, which is roughly 30 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

Clients

Center for Biological DiversityFriends of the EarthNational Audubon SocietyNatural Resources Defense Council

Regional Office / Program

Alaska Office

Case Overview

Generations of Americans have protected the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from development.

The Arctic Refuge, which spans 19 million acres across northeast Alaska, is one of the planet’s last fully intact wild landscapes. The region’s tundra, rivers, and mountains shelter migratory birds from all 50 states and six continents each summer. Grizzlies, wolverines, musk ox, and tens of thousands of caribou also call the Refuge home.

Scientists believe that if we’re to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change, it is essential to keep Arctic fossil fuel reserves in the ground. There currently is no oil and gas development in the Arctic Refuge.

Political leaders have repeatedly determined that drilling in the Refuge is a terrible idea. Yet, in 2017, then-President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a bill that used backdoor budgetary tactics to open the Refuge’s coastal plain to oil and gas drilling.

Earthjustice is working with a broad coalition of partners to oppose reckless attempts to hand over the publicly owned wilderness of the Arctic Refuge to the oil and gas industry.

The Arctic Refuge.
The 19 million acres of tundra, rivers and mountains of the Arctic Refuge shelter migratory birds from all 50 states and six continents each summer. To the Gwich'in people of northeast Alaska, this is sacred ground. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Case Updates

Caribou form large herds on the coastal plains north of the Brooks Range.
July 18, 2025 From the Experts

Confronting the Trump administration’s attack on the Arctic

Earthjustice is defending against multi-pronged attacks, all aimed at maximum drilling

Photos of Caribou taken in the Western Arctic in and around the Teshekpuk Lake area for Earthjustice. (Kiliii Yuyan for Earthjustice)
July 22, 2024 Action Alert

We need the strongest possible protections for the Arctic

Protect the Arctic from fossil fuel development 

The Arctic Refuge.
September 6, 2023 Press Release

Earthjustice Celebrates Cancellation of Arctic Refuge Leases and Proposed Future Actions

Biden administration cancels illegal leases and opens new processes that could preserve cherished Arctic lands in Alaska. More is needed to tackle the biggest climate threat: further oil drilling on existing oil and gas leases in the Western Arctic 

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Case page created on April 28, 2021.